LANGUAGE

1. "The Source" (2:39) piano, delicately picked 12-string guitar and cymbal play form the background for lead singer Michael Lesser to show a dreamy, atmospheric side to his singing capabilities. Quite unexpected! (4.75/5)

2. "Language I: Intuition" (5:24) opening with some Edge-like guitar playing, Eric Guenther adds his keyboard magic before some David Blamires (PAT METHENY GROUP c. 1987--listen to "Minuano [Six Eight]")-like vocalise joins in just before the explosion serves to remind us that this is a metal band. The rest of the song's palette is rather jazzy with constantly shifting guitar chord play over djenty bass and more-jazz-than-rock drumming (and sound engineering). Even when the power/djent chords take over in the fifth minute, there's something more j-r fuse than tech/extreme metal here. (8.875/10) 3. "Language II: Conspire" (4:15) bleeds straight over from the preceding song, but immediately shifts gears into a totally different sonic universe: this one very black/death metal with some very aggressive growl vocals. In the third minute the vocals turn more to standard metal rock before a brief djenty instrumental passage. Then, as the rock vocals return, we get into more familiar Prog Metal territory until the end. (8.75/10)

4. "Integration" (5:46) opens with a series of very quick changing synth chords that sound very familiar (from the Fairlight CMI world of Trevor Horn in the early and mid-1980s), but then bass, drums, piano, and djenty guitars rush into the fray to take over and establish a heavy, djenty, odd tempoed motif over which Michael sings in a smooth rock (almost 1980s techno-glam rock). But then things turn demonic in the fifth minute with Michael's vocals turning to malevolent growls and the instrumental play turning hyperspeed on all levels. Wow! High alert: Incredible musicianship on display! (9/10)

5. "Thrive" (6:04) another song that bursts out of the blocks in full tech-metal garb, no holds barred, within/over which Michael sings in a song-syllabled diction with his smoother voice (though not quite as soporific as his performances on the upcoming songs). An atmospheric fourth minute allows bass and keys to show some of their wares before shredding guitars return at 4:00 to lead us back onto the autobahn, driving on into the sunset on the some kind of glorious summer day. The final minute sees the music shifting into something more ominous, as if one's interpretation of the sunset is suddenly in question. That second half alone is worth the price of admission. (9/10)

6. "Primordial Sound" (6:28) an incredibly rich, beautiful first three minutes does not hide the underlying tension waiting to explode; as the guitars and bass become more djenty you can feel the pressure mounting. Even as Michael Lessard's smooth vocals turn to growls ("gentle" growls), you know the heaviest stuff is still to come (especially with a title like that). Spacey synth break at 5:00 means nothing: it's still coming.? though maybe not in this song ? (9.25/10) 7. "Arise" (3:38) though the song bursts forth from its opening notes as if the volcanic explosion we were all expecting from the previous song, it never really goes crazy: Michael's vocals are still quite smooth and soothing (sounding quite a little like those of Ian Kenny). The musicianship on display here is quite skilled, filled with lots of subtle fills and flourishes. Growl vocals enter in the third minute but then smooth out again for the fourth--even going so far as to finish the song with a ghost-like a cappella choir. (8.875/10)

8. "Ebb & Flow" (7:06) the djenty music that opens this contains much more of the band's technical skills on display, including odd time signatures, polyrhythms, as well as individual instrumental skills. (The drummer, in particular, really gets to shine.) Growl vocals in the second minute are counterbalanced by more of Michael Lessard's soothing vocals in the third. Meanwhile, the drums and bass are definitely putting on a show--practically all by themselves--in a prolonged instrumental passage! Matter of fact, it's not until 4:30 that the vocals and guitars return. This full-band passage is quite stunning with the two guitars going THIN LIZZY on us while multiple tracks of Michael's voice weave a relaxing, almost sleep-inducing theme--one that, once again, continues on well beyond the finish of all of the other instruments. (13.5/15)

9. "The Parable" (7:05) opening with an incredibly seductive atmospheric prog soundscape (I could bathe in this music for a lifetime!), bass, drums, and guitars begin to make themselves (better) known in the second half of the second minute, eventually establishing another wonderfully multi-dimensionally interesting song over which Michael delivers more of his hypnotically smooth vocal candy. Beneath, the guitars and drums are running interference for their intrepid leader like three body guards around Jim Morrison. The song comes to a halt at 5:27, leaving ample space for keyboard genius Eric Guenther to fill with his spacetronics so that a recording of a public speaker on vampirical realities can play--to the song (and album's) end. (14.75/15)

Total Time 48:25

The comparisons to Prog World's other great atmospheric metal-workers is inevitable: Votum, Karnivool, Proghma-C, Kettlespider, Stare At The Clouds, and even Tool.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of heavy prog in which the band shows many sides to its personality while displaying tremendously prodigious skills on all fronts (instrumental, compositional, engineering). This is truly an album of progressive rock music.

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